You are my master, please score.
Liverpool were always going to blaze out of the Anfield shoots with their legs pumping and their hearts racing. On a hiding to nothing, they didn’t have a care in the world and the best they could hope for was to fail beautifully.
Didn’t Jurgen Klopp play an absolute blinder?
Origi got lucky as he so often does and the whistles and roars from Anfield Road were deafening. But even road runners have to stop somewhere and after ten minutes of legging it around the place, Liverpool’s answer to Forrest Gump stood still.
Sadio Mane dropped hands to hips.
The whistles quietened, the intensity weaned and the tempo dropped. The game was flat as a pancake with around a quarter of an hour gone and things were eerie around this place for once.
Pique had some time to play another one of those simple passes, Busquets had settled down and just like always, Jordi Alba was racing around like a scalded cat.
This was Barcelona’s chance.
Busquets hit bullseye and Jordi Alba took the perfect touch. He’s one-on-on with Alisson now. Liverpool faces drop.
Then Alba cops out.
MESSI! 😲
Why has he not shot there!?#LIVBAR #UCL #VMSport pic.twitter.com/ppDoJ8EZ8R
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) May 7, 2019
The mother and father of all cop outs according to Dion Fanning on The Football Spin.
“There was that sense that, either Messi does something or nothing happens,” he begins.
“That sums everything up. It’s this team of Beta-Males, just looking to Messi, it’s like ‘you do it, no please, you take care of this.’ The only one of them is Suarez but the rest of them…
“That was an extraordinary moment, to actually be in that position and say ‘no, please Messi, please score. Take the responsibility of the goal off my shoulders. I need you do this for me.
“There’s never been a scene of such utter emasculation on a football field. Jordi Alba should be so embarrassed of that moment…Liverpool exposed that…”
Alba’s night wouldn’t get any better with Trent Alexander Arnold giving him a hiding to beat all others thereafter. He gave away the ball for Wijnaldum’s first goal.
A night to forget for a man who is usually one of Barcelona’s brightest.
You can listen to Dion Fanning’s verdict, Tony Evans’ rant and Conan Doherty’s analysis here.
https://soundcloud.com/thefootballspin/klopps-mentality-giants-liverpools-crazy-aphrodisiac-and-disgusting-luis-suarez
